Secrets Behind the Monitor
by IrisTheFlower
Summary: "If you end up in a relationship with him via internet, I will tell him in person that you are 'AegyoKimchi' and possibly delete your account." Yong Soo felt anger inside him.Kiku made his character a girl and accessed cheats onto his own account and now he was faced with this. It was like he was setting up a mouse trap. He felt isolated. He couldn't object and he couldn't decline
1. Promise With the Untrustworthy

**[PARTY CHAT]**

[19:19:06] **SwordofVengeance:** _We're never going to kill this thing, aren't we?_

Yong Soo grimaced as he saw his party's health draining at a new speed as they continued attacking by using spells or fighting offensively. The boss was barely halfway through its health.

[19:19:08] **EastMeetsWest:** _A heal will do some good right now, Mei :I_

[19:19:16] **PrunusMei:** _R u blind? I don't have any more MP for healing!_

[19:19:20] **SwordofVengeance:** _Crap_

[19:19:27]** AegyoKimchi:** _You would think the cheats would work ._._

[19:19:40]** SwordofVengeance:** _For the tenth time…the cheats don't work on attacking! It's just for getting rare items and leveling up faster._

"Kiku, that was the first time you told me that. Bastard." He said to himself as he commanded his character to keep on attacking offensively since his MP was running too low.

_**PrunusMei has fainted**_

[19:19:50] **AegyoKimchi: **_Then why would I sign up as a girl?_

[19:19:55] **AegyoKimchi:** _Sorry Mei! D:_

[19:20:10] **SwordofVengeance:** _Because these cheats work better on girl characters. They didn't really work for me or Li_

[19:20:20] **EastMeetsWest:** _Yup_

[19:20:25] **SwordofVengeance:** _Plus you begged for the cheats and then you signed up as a girl._

"Liar, I did not beg. I simply went on my laptop to sign up for this game and then you came and entered in cheats and forced me to be a girl. Fuck you very much, sir." He just wanted to play the game with no cheats and actually be a guy on this game.

"And since when did cheats start working better for female players?"

[19:20:45] **AegyoKimchi: **_Hell no. I didn't beg. You just came and entered cheats in and named my character 'AegyoKimchi.' Dafuq._

[19:20:56] **SwordofVengeance:** _Actually Mei came up with the name_

[19:20:58] **PrunusMei:** _I think its cute ^^ and your Korean after all :D_

Yong Soo ran his fingers through his dark hair, now desiring to create a new account and just stay anonymous to his siblings.

[19:21:06] **EastMeetsWest:** _Mei, it's 'you're' and where the hell are you?_

Yong-Soo 'tsked' as his brother's constant corrections on grammar, especially towards Mei.

[19:21:15] **PrunusMei:** _Im at Wingcove clinic _

[19:21:22] **EastMeetsWest:** _Get your butt back here. We're dying._

Yong Soo tried to save his character from dying. Until he realized he didn't care for the poor female character and just let her shrivel up from the boss's fire attack.

_**AegyoKimchi has fainted**_

[19:21:30] **EastMeetsWest:** _SEE?_

[19:21:33]: **PrunusMei:** _FIIINNEEE IM COMING_.

[19:21:40] **SwordofVengeance:** _Oh Alfred is on._

Yong Soo paled, his stomach falling to the ends of his feet. "Oh shit." He cannot be seen playing as a girl with Alfred soon to be joining the party.

[19:21:46] **PrunusMei:** _Oh awesome! He can help us defeat this boss since hes like twenty levels higher than him :D!" INVITE HIM TO OUR PARTY. NOW._

[19:21:50] **AegyoKimchi:** _Guys, I cannot let him see me as a girl. I need cover up._

A pause. He swallowed thickly, wincing at the silence. They weren't even trying to attack the boss anymore as their characters stared at his female character.

[19:22:10] **SwordofVengeance:** _…Um…_

[19:22:15] **PrunusMei:** _You can be a girl from South Korea and you recently moved to California?_

[19:22:30] **AegyoKimchi:** _California? Where did that come from?_

[19:22:39] **PrunusMei:** _A lot of Asians are there! D: Were just stuck in a dead New York town ._. _

Yong Soo shrugged, agreeing to the idea, just hoping Alfred would fall for it. Alfred was his closest friend but he wouldn't even dare tell him that he was playing as a girl on a MMORPG just because his siblings mauled his laptop and signed up for him.

Memories from last year then flooded his mind, so many embarrassing moments between him and Alfred. He slapped himself to forget about those. He didn't want to re live those.

[19:22:43] **AegyoKimchi:** _Kay fine. Kiku can you clear the party chat?_

[19:22:56] **SwordofVegeance:** _Hold on, Yong Soo. Promise me on something first._

"Aw hell no." Was what he wanted to type.

[19:23:05] **AegyoKimchi:** _What? ._._

He wasn't sure if he was scared what the promise was going to be about or suspicious about the fact that he had never made a single promise with Kiku. But the pause was irritating. Seconds seemed like long, grueling minutes.

_**NEW PRIVATE MESSAGE**_

Yong Soo hastily clicked the envelope icon in the right hand corner of the screen.

**To:** AegyoKimchi

**From:** SwordofVengeance

**Subject:** Promise

_Even though you're playing as a girl, you will not form a 'relationship' with Alfred. _

His heart stopped. "He knew?!" His hands then went in a frenzy in typing a private message back, frantically wondering how he knew.

**To: **SwordofVengeance

**From:** AegyoKimchi

**RE:** Promise

_Kiku. HOW DID YOU KNOW ABOUT…YOU KNOW._

**To:** AegyoKimchi

**From:** SwordofVengeance

**RE:** Promise

_Know about what? Your crush on him from last year? It was really obvious._

_But seriously, promise me you will not form a relationship. _

[19:26:17] **PrunusMei:** _Guys? U still here? Alfred is here..._

[19:26:24] **EastMeetsWest:** _They're probably using talking by PM. _

_**SwordofVengeance cleared the party chat.**_

_**DeFacto joined the party.**_

[19:26:40] **DeFacto:** _Hey gaiz :D_

**To:** SwordofVengeance

**From:** AegyoKimchi

**RE:** Promise

_Just wondering, what happens if I break it?_

[19:26:43] **SwordofVengeance:** _Hi Alfred :)_

[19:26:45] **PrunusMei:** _Hey! ^^_

[19:26:50] **EastMeetsWest:** _Al, we're dying. Help us._

"AHEM." He wanted to know right now. It wasn't like he wanted to be in a relationship with Alfred via internet and in real life. But he just wanted to know what happens if he broke it or why he shouldn't break said promise.

**To:** AegyoKimchi

**From:** SwordofVengeance

**RE:** Promise

_If you end up in a relationship with him via internet, I will tell him in person that you are 'AegyoKimchi' and possibly delete your account._

Yong Soo felt anger inside him. Kiku made his character a girl and accessed cheats onto his own account and now he was faced with this. It was like he was setting up a mouse trap. He felt isolated. He couldn't object and he couldn't decline.

[19:27:03] **DeFacto:** And who is this here? ^^

[19:27:10] **PrunusMei:** Oh thats Aegyo ^^ Shes new to the U.S. She just moved from South Korea :)

**To:** SwordofVengeance

**From:** AegyoKimchi

**RE:** Subject

_All right. I promise._

[19:27:15] **AegyoKimchi:** _Ah sorry, I was PMing someone ^^;_

[19:27:20]** DeFacto**: _No prob. Im Alfred by the way, just call me Al though :)_

Yong Soo just realized. He needed a name. He couldn't stand being called 'Aegyo' or 'Kimchi'. He quickly pulled up his home browser and looked up 'Female Korean Names'. He immediately clicked the first result that showed up and then settled upon a nice, looking name.

[19:28:02] **AegyoKimchi:** _I'm Ae Sook ^^. Nice to meet you, Al. I'm a bit new to the English language so my replies are slow ^^;_

He bet himself that he was totally not believable at this point, he was pretty sure he used perfect grammar. There was no way he could pass as a full Korean that just moved to the U.S., signed up on a MMORPG, and spoke flawless English.

Unless 'Ae Sook' studied English for years, then that would sound believable.

[19:28:10] **DeFacto:** _No you're English is really good so far! Most foreign people wouldnt dare join a English speaking site unless there really confident. You got guts ;) _

"And your English is amazing, Al, as always." Yong Soo said to himself sarcastically.

[19:28:15] **EastMeetsWest:** _Sooo, um, I have to finish some homework. I gtg._

[19:28:20] **PrunusMei**: _Oh yea that reminds me I have to study for tomorrows test…nice seeing you Al! :D_

[19:28:22] **AegyoKimchi:** _Thank you, Al ^^._

[19:28:25] **SwordofVengeance:** _I'm going to go as well._

[19:28:30] **DeFacto:** _Aww you gaiz D: You guys are party poopers :P_

[19:28:33] **PrunusMei:** _Goodnight!_

_**PrunusMei has left the party **_

_**PrunusMei has signed off**_

_**EastMeetsWest has left the party**_

_**EastMeetsWest has signed off**_

_**SwordofVengeance has left the party**_

_**SwordofVengeance has signed off.**_

"Wow, thanks guys."

[19:28:40] **DeFacto:** _Sooo, where in the U.S. did you move to?_

[19:28:49] **AegyoKimchi:** _California. _

[19:28:53] **DeFacto:** _Aw, I live in New York ): I always wanted to visit California! Lucky! D:_

[19:29:01] **AegyoKimchi:** _Well, I kind of miss South Korea ): All my friends were there and most of my family._

[19:29:10] **DeFacto:** _Aww Im sorry D:, must of been tough. _

[19:29:18] **AegyoKimchi:** _It's alright. My parents were planning the move since I was little anyways._

Yong Soo was literally coming up with anything that came up to his mind and then typing it in. He couldn't help feel nervous with every reply he got and how he should respond. He had to be different, completely different.

[19:29:23] **DeFacto:** _So if your parents were planning the move. Did they teach you English?_

[19:29:30] **AegyoKimchi:** _I actually always wanted to learn English and Kpop bands would usually have English lines in their songs and since we were going to move to the U.S., I started taking classes._

[19:29:37] **DeFacto:** _Well it payed off :D, they taught you well. Do you want to go somewhere else? I don't want this monster suddenly attacking us._

[19:29:50] **AegyoKimchi:** _That sounds like a good idea_

The two went on battling monster after monster, walking around the game's, Riverend Quest, sights to offer, and Yong Soo silently laughing at Alfred's constant trolling on members he called 'noobs'.

Yong Soo was not surprised on how quickly he opened up to Ae Sook. Alfred was a social butterfly so he had to be one on the internet as well. He never said anything about his outside life though, as if he wanted to keep it a secret.

But at the same time, he was frightened how quickly he opened up to her. If he stepped any further he would ruin his friendship with Alfred.

That's why he was so afraid last year. He couldn't confess, thus creating the awkward moments between the two. That summer he just pronounced himself 'crush-free' and just hung out with Alfred on the internet playing Starcraft and any other PC games, trying to forget his crush towards him.

Now he felt as if he were nearing the edge of a cliff with Kiku pushing him towards it and Alfred waiting clueless at the bottom.

He felt panicked once again.

[22:47:03] **DeFacto:** _And did you see how he reacted? He was like "I SWEAR I WILL REPORT YOU GUYS TO THE MODS, YOU SON OF A BITCH. GO FUCK YOURSELF." _

[22:47:10] **AegyoKimchi:** _xD I know! I almost died of laughter xD_

[22:47:20] **DeFacto:** _Awwww D:_

[22:47:25] **AegyoKimchi:** _What?_

[22:47:30] **DeFacto:** _I gotta go. Wait a second, your not on my friendslist. Thats impossible._

_**The user DeFacto wants to be friends. Will you accept?**_

_**[Yes] [No]**_

Yong Soo unconsciously clicked yes.

[22:47:40] **DeFacto:** _I'll see you tomorrow, is that alright? _

[22:47:48] **AegyoKimchi:** _I think I can, I still have to unpack after two weeks of moving in and I'm joining my new school tomorrow so I'm a bit nervous…_

[22:47:54] **DeFacto:** _Well don't worry, American high schools are pretty nice. Well from my POV. What grade are you in?_

[22:48:09] **AegyoKimchi:** _Grade? Oh! I'm in 11__th__ ^^;. Sorry, I'm not used to this 'grade' system._

[22:48:20] **DeFacto:** _Whoa! Thats the same grade I'm in! :D_

[22:48:25] **DeFacto:** _Anyway, I really have to go. My cousin visiting from England is kicking me off -_-_

[22:48:34] **AegyoKimchi:** _Good night, I'll probably be on tomorrow. :) _

[22:48:42] **DeFacto:** _Goodnight :)_

_**DeFacto has left the party**_

_**Party has been disbanded**_

_**DeFacto has signed off**_

Yong Soo immediately clicked the 'sign off' button and slammed his laptop lid shut. His eyes felt dry and his whole body felt sore. He then ran his fingers through his sweaty scalp once more, heaving a sigh. His fingers slipped down to his temples and then rubbed them slowly. He felt as if he carried more weight than usual.

After just three hours he was signed up as a girl, made a promise, and now made a commitment to live two lives.

He couldn't live like this. He couldn't live two lives at once.

All of a sudden, he felt his phone vibrate on the bed. He placed his laptop gently on the floor and reached for his phone on the bed then retreated back to his chair.

**NEW TXT MESSAGE**

**From Wang Kiku**

Yong Soo arched an eyebrow, wondering why Kiku texted him when he could've just knocked on his door and come in. At the same time, he felt a bit scared.

**From:** Wang Kiku

O

/|\

/ \- - - - - - - - - - - - - - _

* * *

**A/N:** Oh god, what am I doing. This plot bunny would not leave me alone :I. After my computer committed suicide (Long story) I got so much inspiration when I went out camping with friends and did other outdoorsy stuff. But this is going to be a fun ride :D.

I love KimchiBurger. It's my new OTP {3 Please, don't tell me I'm the only KimchiBurger lover. I feel so alone D:

As for the usernames

(Yong-Soo) AegyoKimchi

(Alfred) DeFacto

(Kiku) SwordofVengeance

(Mei) PrunusMei

(Li Xiao) EastMeetsWest

Kiku's username I just sort of made up. Otherwise if you find out why I gave them those usernames, you are awesome. They're pretty easy actually :'D. You get bonus points if you can find out what Kiku meant by that text :D

Mei will have bad grammar and spelling mishaps throughout the whole story and Li will be the grammar nazi. Just to sprinkle some humor here and there :'D. As well as Alfred. About the Asian characters being siblings (Since they have different nationalities), will be answered soon.

Some more players on this game will be revealed in the upcoming chapters. So expect some fast updates. This story will mainly focus on the POV of Yong Soo and a few scenes with Kiku. Otherwise, Alfred's side is a mystery :D. And the whole Homosexuality problems will not really be in the story, that would just be a whole new plot. I do not want to ruin this plot :I. It will be mentioned but it won't be a huge plot.

Stay tuned c:


	2. If Only You Knew

Yong Soo was sure he was late for school.

The clocks around the two story house struck seven fifty and his first class started at eight. He would have no transportation whatsoever except by foot. He absolutely despised walking to school since he would usually have his hands full with textbooks and his backpack would most of the time be heavy with the work the teachers would throw at him.

He just wished his father, even his siblings for that matter, would just pound on his door and Yong Soo would be up and going.

He rushed down the stairs in the midst of throwing a hoodie on, heading towards the kitchen to at least get a cereal bar. Literally sprinting to the kitchen, a neon colored note grabbed his eyes in the dark colored house.

_Kids, I'll be working late tonight. I'll be home around midnight or so. There's some leftovers in the fridge if you're hungry. Make sure you do your homework and study!_

_That especially means you Yong-Soo._

_-Love, __爸__._

Yong Soo grumbled at the note and snatched it off the refrigerator, rolling it into a ball and throwing it like a professional basketball player to the trash bin. Except he threw it poorly and it didn't even make it to the trash bin. He was going to throw it in again but time was ticking fast.

He jumped over to the other side of the kitchen, threw the cabinet door open, and grabbed the first bar he saw not even bothering to know what brand or flavor it was.

Rushing to the door, another neon post it note stuck out like a sore thumb. "Dad, I already know that I have to study just shut up-…Mei?"

_FYI don't take the last strawberry cereal bar Yong Soo! Thats my favorite! D:_

_-Mei_

Yong Soo blinked and drew his eyes to the said cereal bar wrapped inside his hand. It was; matter of fact, strawberry. He shook his head, chuckling softly. He started to unwrap the cereal bar and place the bar in his mouth while he dug into his backpack for a pen and began writing on the post it note. His hands then trailed to the fallen wrapper on the floor and got it to stick to the tape-like substance behind the post it note.

_Well I took it and ate it. Take that as revenge for naming my character 'AegyoKimchi' :P_

_Now you have to live with apple flavor :D_

_Love, Yong Soo_

_P.S. Here's the wrapper~_

One thing for sure was he couldn't wait to see his sister's reaction.

* * *

"Dude, why were you late?" His close friend, Alfred, had asked while walking to their next period.

"Siblings apparently forgot about me." He answered, rolling his eyes whilst letting out a scoff. Their teacher could be so rude when late students came in the classroom. She literally had a ruler glued to her hands at all times. While his siblings just got ready and left not caring if they left anyone behind.

"Yea, they can be jerks at times, like my cousin." Yong Soo suddenly remembered from last night that Alfred had mention his cousin visiting.

"Oh, Arthur? I haven't seen him in so long!" Yong Soo exclaimed, imagining what the Englishman looked like right now. Last time he saw him, Arthur had scruffy blond hair and poorly 'possibly-plucked' eyebrows. He snickered at the memory.

"You should totally see him again, Soo! Although…he brought his girlfriend." The Korean appeared surprised at Arthur actually having a relationship.

"He has a girlfriend?"

"Yea, she says she's from Sey…Seychelles or something? Something weird. But Arthur said she was studying abroad in England and then they came here. I don't get it." Alfred explained, stopping at his slightly damaged locker to drop his book in. He would always have to have that locker every year since no one was ever interested in it and plus the school was too 'lazy' to even try to fix it.

"Isn't that country near Africa or something? I never knew Arthur would go for that type…" Yong Soo said; his eyes scrunched in confusion. Alfred closed his locker and turned back to him, shrugging.

"I don't know, man. All I know is that she hates me. After seeing all the girls here I thought she would be a nice break, but she almost punched my guts out when I got off the computer at ten at night and called me a fat-ass America hahaha~" Suddenly, Yong Soo felt very uncomfortable where the conversation was going to. He wanted that loud, obnoxious bell to ring right this second to escape the upcoming conversation.

"Oh by the way, I keep telling you to join RiverendQuest! I'm on there all the time! Seriously, everyone is joining it." He totally knew that was going to happen. He felt as if the world was mocking him. His mind fluttered through excuses, nervously chuckling at his suggestion.

"Well we sort of just back from winter break, you know?"

"…Dude, seriously. Your siblings even have an account. You're missing out!" Yong Soo sighed quietly.

"I'll see, doesn't seem very interesting to me." Alfred stood there, stunned.

"Soo, no. Just no. Don't judge it by its cover. 'Tis awesome." Alfred measly poked the Korean on the forehead, a small glare on the American's face. Yong-Soo was used to Alfred's accusing pokes since he would do this all the time. By every time, he meant about twenty times a day.

Alfred stopped and had a face as if he just remembered something, "By the way, you can't come to my house today."

'_Wasn't planning on it.'_. Yong Soo would usually hang at Alfred's house playing various video games or just play competitive sports outside until dark. "Why?"

Alfred had a small hint of being flustered; his eyes were away from his as he rubbed the back of his head. "You know; family…and stuff."

The Korean arched an eyebrow; he did want to see Arthur and his new girlfriend. But he didn't want to be constantly bothered with Alfred exclaiming '_Join RiverendQuest! JOIN IT.'._ It was already all over the internet. "…How long is Arthur staying?"

"Ehhh, two more weeks I think. You'll see him, I promise." Just then, the bell blared and some students had to cover their ears to protect their sensitive eardrums. Alfred left in a scurry the moment the bell rang for next period, leaving Yong Soo to leave for next class. He didn't feel like being late again.

His class, Algebra two, he couldn't focus. He was somewhat scared that Alfred could see through him but he also confused about Alfred acting flustered. He wanted a way out of this; things were already getting awkward from the looks of it.

It seemed difficult as well.

* * *

_**AegyoKimchi has signed on**_

After much persistence to sign on when he arrived home, Yong Soo finally gave and signed on. He started loathing these two even more and more. He was bombarded with texts after school with him begging to sign on which made him dislike them more for almost exploding his phone.

He was hoping to dear lord Alfred won't log on. One, he needed to study and start on his homework so his father won't get furious with him, and two he didn't want to be on for six hours straight.

_**SwordofVengeance has invited to their party. Will you accept?**_

_**[Yes] [No]**_

_**AegyoKimchi has joined the party**_

**[PARTY CHAT]**

[15:30:37] **EastMeetsWest:** _I thought you were going to be at Alfred's house._

[15:30:45] **AegyoKimchi:** _He said he had family over._

[15:30:54] **SwordofVengeance:** _Arthur? Or that other cousin?_

[15:31:05] **AegyoKimchi:** _Yes and his girlfriend from some African country, forgot :P_

"Wha- Alfred has _another_ cousin? No one tells me anything these days!"

[15:31:13] **AegyoKimchi:** _What other cousin? He has another cousin? o_o_

[15:31:21] **SwordofVengeance:** _Nevermind. Probably my imagination. _

[15:31:30] **SwordofVengeance: **_Arthur has a girlfriend from Africa? Um…wow._

[15:31:42] **AegyoKimchi:** _Ikr?_

Yong Soo had to agree with Kiku there, he never knew Arthur would be in a relationship with a kind of woman like her. They just seemed so different. For a moment, he wondered how she looked and how she looked with Arthur. It seemed unusual at first but the more he imagined the more he got used to it. Who knew two different races could be together just like those two.

He just had to see it to believe it.

_**DeFacto has signed on**_

Then his mind faltered to Alfred.

[15:32:13] **AegyoKimchi:** _CLEAR PARTY CHAT. NOW._

_**SwordofVengeance cleared the party chat**_

_**DeFacto has joined the party**_

[15:32:43] **SwordofVengeance: **_I heard you had family over._

[15:32:44] **DeFacto:** _Hey guys :D  
_[15:32:53] **DeFacto:** _Yea but …they sort of want to be alone? _

[15:33:03] **DeFacto:** _I mean, my cousin has his gf over and stuff ._. She's annoying._

Yon Soo snickered just thinking what those two were doing.

[15:33:25] **SwordofVengeance:**…_So they want to be alone? Just suggest video games or something so you guys have quality family time._

[15:33:51] **DeFacto:** _Kiku. I dont want to go to the room there in. or else ill have an image stuck in my head forever._

At this point, he was laughing.

[15:34:01] **SwordofVengeance**_**:**__…oh…okay._

[15:34:07] **AegyoKimchi:** _That's a bit disturbing._

He just remembered he was still the Korean girl on this site. He mentally cursed at himself for attracting attention.

[15:34:16] **DeFacto:** _Ae Sook! Isn't it like three hours behind there? You're still in school! :O_

"Crap…Why does the world have time zones? GAH. Come on, Yong Soo, come up with an excuse.

[15:34:23] **EastMeetsWest: **_Oh yea, won't you get in trouble for being online right now?_

[15:34:41] **AegyoKimchi:** _I, uh, in the computer lab? I have computer class._

He sighed of relief for coming up with a decent excuse. He seemed pretty close for almost being in trouble there.

[15:34:52] **DeFacto:** _…How are you not getting caught? :O_

[15:35:03] **AegyoKimchi:** _I don't know, I guess I'm good at this whole undercover thing xD_

[15:35:17] **DeFacto**_**:**__ Lol xD You should be a spy_

[15:35:20] **EastMeetsWest: **_Oh, why don't you look at that. IceBreaker5 is on. Bye._

_**EastMeetsWest has left the party**_

"Go ahead, Li. Go to your boyfriend and leave me alone." Yong Soo muttered sarcastically. The word 'boyfriend' echoed in his mind. Why was he even still talking to Alfred?

_**NEW PM MESSAGE**_

Yong Soo arched an eyebrow and opened it.

**To:** AegyoKimchi

**From:** EastMeetsWest

**Subject:** Mei

_Mei's pissed at you for taking the last strawberry bar._

"Yea, I kinda knew that." Yong Soo still couldn't help but slightly laugh at how Mei's reaction went.

[15:35:35] **AegyoKimchi:**_ Pfft, I would be caught then._

[15:35:45] **DeFacto:** _'Course not, you can be my sidekick and we can both kick ass :D_

"Alfred, you said I'll- wait, he says that to everyone."

[15:35:52] **AegyoKimchi:** _No way, I'm being the leader in this :P_

He noticed Kiku hadn't spoken in awhile. Curious he checked his friendlist to see if he was still online.

**SwordofVengeance** _Offline _

"Huh, I was expecting a notice that he left the party or something." He scrolled over to where the chat began, just when Alfred joined the party. After scanning it he saw no trace of Kiku whatsoever. He was confused but decided to say that the game was still having it's 'new game glitches'

[15:36:01] **DeFacto:** _Nu-uh, you said you would be caught._

[15:36:09] **AegyoKimchi:** _Are you calling me weak?_

[15:36:15] **DeFacto:** _Maybe :P_

The two characters suddenly burst into a VS battle, attacking each other with numerous of spells and offensive attacks. Yong Soo, knowing his character's look attack stats, stuck to defensive moves most of the time creating only little damage to his character. Alfred, who was literally thirty levels higher than him, was just attack after attack. Aegyo's attacks were weak and didn't even make a dent into DeFacto's health.

This was annoying Yong Soo. After years of PC gaming and fighting games like these, he was not giving up. Oh no, he was very competitive when it came to games like these. He stuck out his tongue in concentration, pressing many keys on his keyboard to keep him protected from large amounts of damage to his character's small health bar.

Alfred's character kept swinging his blazing sword in every direction possible that could attack Aegyo. Yong Soo scrunched up his eyes as he stared at the MP bar. He could use those great defensive moves, he would have to use the standard one which sometimes wouldn't work. "Come on…lliiiivveee"

DeFacto made a final move with a critical hit, causing Aegyo to fall dramatically to the ground be sent to the nearest clinic.

"Fuck. Why did I do that? Why did I even fight a freaking level 33 while I'm level 3? SO STUPID. URGH."

He wanted to flip his laptop from losing.

[15:58:09] **DeFacto:** _That. Was. AMAZING._

[15:58:14] **AegyoKimchi:** _But you won! D:_

[15:58:23] **DeFacto:** _You should of seen yourself! I was getting really annoyed at all the defensive moves you made! I was really surprised when you would suddenly attacked that was awesome!_

[15:58:42] **AegyoKimchi:**_ uh well ^^;_

[15:58:50] **DeFacto:** _Where did you learn that? You must of knew before :O_

[15:59:00] **AegyoKimchi:** _I did play starcraft and I did kind of play maplestory a bit and also other games._

[15:59:10] **DeFacto:** _Whoa. I have a Korean friend here and he plays those games and he never really liked MapleStory as well! xD You should totally meet him! Once he gets his ass on this game ._._

"If only you knew."

[15:59:32] **AegyoKimchi:** _Haha, a male self of me xD_

[15:59:40] **DeFacto:** _Yup ^^_

He still didn't know why he was still talking to Alfred. He wanted to avoid him on this game at all costs but he would always give in. He slapped himself, he was probably already breaking the promise he made with Kiku last night.

But he didn't like Alfred like that anymore, it was just a phase. But he would just never leave his mind. Maybe that's because he was remembering when he played video games with him and be caught into hysterical moments where today he would still laugh at them. Or maybe he just liked talking to him.

Yea, that's right. He was fun to talk to. He settled on that.

[16:00:07] **AegyoKimchi:** _Class is over, I need to log off. I probably won't be on anymore tonight since I have homework and studying to do as well as unpacking._

[16:00:22] **DeFacto:** _Awww )':, I'll be all alone D: with my icky cousin and his girlfriend :C_

[16:00:34] **AegyoKimchi:** _I'm sorry ):, hopefully tomorrow I'll see you. Bye!_

[16:00:42] **DeFacto:** _Bye D;!_

_**AegyoKimchi has left the party**_

_**Party has been disbanded**_

_**AegyoKimchi has signed off.**_

"Now to witness just how pissed Mei is~"

* * *

Kiku watched the two chat and battle. Earlier he had set his character to invisibility mode where people would think he's offline, where he really wasn't. It was rather useful to him.

He was discouraged that his brother was starting to break his promise already. He could never trust his little brother; it's the reason why he never made promises with him. He observed the conversation; even in invisibility mode he could still see the party chat. He arched his hand to his phone and decided to text his brother to let him know just how 'bad' he was being.

**To:** Wang Yong Soo

O

/|\

/ \- - - - - - - - - - - - _

"You're getting closer, Yong Soo…"

* * *

**A/N: **

_爸 – Dad (Chinese)_

_Prunus Mei - Taiwan's national flower._

_EastMeetsWest - Hong Kong is known as the city of 'East Meets West'_

_AegyoKimchi - I'm sorry, I had to do this xD. It's kimchi acting cute. DERP._

_DeFacto - along the lines of 'praticed but not established' meaning the US speaks English but it's not an Official language. So really, it's being practiced but it's not established if that makes any sense. _

Structure of a Korean Name Im (Family name) Yong Soo (Given Name) BAM. I had to get this out there. If it's wrong, tell me. I am certain Soo is not his last name xD But he's really Wang Yong Soo in this story for family structure. Which makes Wang Kiku. It'll be explained soon. No worries.

Thank you guys for the lovely reviews/subscriptions/and favorites, but the most important part is reading ^^.

I was kind of afraid to post the second chapter since it wouldn't seem appealing still :'D But I didn't want to let this story sit here without being updated for months.

Feedback is much appreciated, it helps me improve my writing. I'll be seeing all of you in the next update!


	3. Invitation

**EDIT** **9/5/12:** Fixed the date and grammatical errors.

"So, how's Mei?"

"Funny actually, I chased her with the apple flavored bar and shoved it in her mouth so she can get used to the taste once they're all gone~" He could sense his brother, Li Xiao, crack an amused grin. Yong Soo can actually hear Mei from the restroom next door, brushing her tongue roughly to get rid of the artificial apple flavor out of her mouth.

Yong Soo looked over to Li who was growing annoyed by five minutes of constant, loud brushing of his sister's toothbrush. He formed his hand into a ball and roughly knocked on the wall behind him to get Mei's attention, "Use mouthwash!"

The continuous brushing ceased and cabinet doors open to search for said mouthwash. Li Xiao relaxed, slinking down to the soft ground and closed his eyes. Yong Soo thought the same; the boisterous scrubbing of how Mei was handling that toothbrush grew irritating quickly.

Silence filled the two rooms at the slightly late hours of the night; only thing possible to hear was the crickets outside.

_"…There's no more mouthwash."_

Li Xiao flung his eyes open and heaved a sigh. "It's. Just. Apple. It's not going to kill you."

_"But the taste is disgusting!" _

Yong Soo stood up, facing the wall blocking him from Mei. "Then you shouldn't have written to not take the last strawberry bar on a neon post it. It makes it more tempting!"

He heard Mei grumble rather loudly and she kept brushing vigorously. Yong Soo snickered at Mei's persistence on getting rid of the so called disgusting apple flavor. His brother, now moving to the other side of the room, couldn't take Mei's constant tongue cleaning; then plopping himself on his own bed silently reading his texts above his face.

_Bzzzzzzt_

Yong Soo felt a vibration from his phone in his pocket. His hand reached for the device.

**From:** Wang Kiku

O

/|\

/ \- - - - - - - - - - - - _

He got the same text yesterday and his eyes could not see a difference from the last one. Confused, he started texting back to his brother, his fingertips flying over the keypad.

**To:** Wang Kiku

Bro, what r u doing?

"Who are you texting?" He could hear Li say from across the room. Yong Soo glanced at him.

"Who are _you_ texting?" A smirk slid on the Korean's lips. Li sent a small glare at him and returned to texting, trying not to look back at Yong Soo's playful smirk.

_**NEW TXT MESSAGE**_

**From:** Wang Kiku

You know very well what I'm doing.

"What the…" He honestly had no clue what this guy was doing. He knew he couldn't trust his brother. He never had and he most likely never will.

**To:** Wang Kiku

No. I dont know. D:

_**NEW TXT MESSAGE**_

**From:** Wang Kiku

It's sad that you don't know. I'm disappointed.

"No one ever tells me anything! WHY?" He then heard a small shriek and then followed a loud thump to the floor, then causing Li's phone to attack his face. Yong Soo was confused once more, was he that loud?

_"Ow! Yong Soo seriously! You scared me! Don't yell like that!"_ Mei exclaimed from the bathroom, thrusting her hand against the wall aggressively. He could hear Li grumble from behind him soon continuing his texting adventure with 'someone'.

Yong Soo was betting Li's 'boyfriend' from RiverendQuest. It seemed very possible.

_**NEW TXT MESSAGE**_

**From**: Wang Kiku

Twelve more steps.

His mind was only getting thicker with confusion.

* * *

_**SwordOfVengeance has signed on**_

_**DeFacto has invited you to their party? Will you accept?**_

_**[Yes] [No]**_

_**SwordOfVengeance has joined the party.**_

**[PARTY CHAT]**

[22:34:03] **DeFacto:** _Kiku :D_

[22:34:08] **SwordOfVengeance:** _Hey._

[22:34:17] **DeFacto:** _A new boss is out BD, wanna go?_

[22:34:30]** SwordOfVengeance:** _…this site just updates things at the last minute…sure why not._

_**The party has teleported over to Binding Cave.**_

[22:35:00] **DeFacto: **_Whoa, new map._

[22:35:10] **SwordOfVengeance: **_There's a lot of trails o_o_

[22:35:17] **DeFacto:** _I'm going this way_

[22:35:40] **SwordOfVengeance:**_ I don't think this is the right way…_

[22:36:50] **DeFacto:** _Everything looks the same o_e_

[22:36:54] **DeFacto: **_OH SHIT._

[22:37:01] **SwordOfVengeance:** _o_o That's a large serpent…_

[22:37:10] **DeFacto:** _THAT THING IS HUGE. SHIT MAN. _

[22:37:17] **DeFacto:** _Oh hell naw, this thing is biting me already D{ DIE YOU SERPENT BITCH._

[22:38:03] **SwordOfVengeance:** _Hey Al. Can I ask you something?_

[22:38:12] **Defacto: **_Kinda in the middle of kicking ass but…what?_

[22:38:24] **SwordOfVengeance:** _You know Aegyo, yes?_

[22:38:30] **DeFacto: **_Yeah, she's cool :D_

[22:38:41] **SwordOfVengeance: **_I don't think you should trust her._

[22:38:59] **DeFacto:**_…why?_

[22:39:11] **SwordOfVengeance:** _She seems a bit…off._

[22:39:19] **DeFacto:** _I don't understand a single thing your saying._

[22:39:30] **SwordOfVengeance: **_Like she's hiding something._

[22:39:43] **DeFacto:** _Dude, its the internet. We're always hiding something._

[22:39:54] **SwordOfVengeance: **_I'm just saying. You shouldn't trust her._

[22:40:10] **DeFacto: **_Whatevs man, now get back into the game and release your mojo. _

[22:40:19] **SwordOfVengeance:**_..._

_**Boss has been defeated**_

* * *

Saturday mornings always started out the same.

Mei hogging the bathroom, Li pounding on the bathroom door, Kiku locking himself in his room until around noon, and leaving Yong Soo hunting for food in the kitchen, although his father would be busy making breakfast.

"Son, you eat too much." His father said to Yong Soo whilst the boy searching for something edible in the meantime. His father would take too long to cook making sure everything was just right.

Yong Soo sent a blank face to his father as he pealed opened one of the apple bars that nobody ate. "I'm a growing boy. I need food." With that, he took a large bite out of the said 'disgusting' bar.

He almost choked.

"AH GOD. THAT TASTES HORRIBLE." The Korean boy exclaimed, quickly disposing it. He now realized why the apple bars were barely eaten. It didn't taste like apple at all, barely. His father, Yao, turned to face the boy covering his mouth in disgust and sighed in exhaustion. "Daaad, why do we buy these?"

His father smiled, "I personally like them."

Yong Soo swore his face scrunched up, "Ahh god…now I'm worried what you put in our meals these days…"

"Well I just cook anything that moves, sleeps, eats, and well…living." Yao went back to focus on his cooking. Yong Soo blinked.

"…What _kind_ of living things?"

He could sense his father silently chuckling with a huge smile on his face. "Everything. And before you ask anything else, yes, I mean everything. Except human beings."

"And we ate these things our whole lives?"

Silence, the only sound had been coming from the sizzling of the hot food cooking on the stovetop. Yao turned to his son once more, blanked face. "Yes."

Yong Soo had lost his appetite right there.

* * *

"Again?"

The other three siblings gathered around Mei, staring at the paper she was holding.

_**Party**_

_**January 7, 2012**_

_** Gilbert's House**_

_**7398 Cardinal St.**_

_**All night starting at 6**_

"It's just a piece of paper with words written by sharpie. Maybe it's a prank?" Mei continued, placing the paper down that had been found crumpled in her bookbag.

"No, Gilbert is always serious about parties." Yong Soo mentioned, his eyes glancing to Mei then back to the paper. Kiku took the invitation, his eyes stuck to it like glue.

"I don't know, the last party he had had brought the cops over."

"Kiku, that always happens." Yong Soo corrected. Kiku glanced up, not facing either of his siblings but the man standing in front of the table, swiping the paper out of his hands. All four froze at the sight of their father reading the said invitation.

Yao ripped it in half and let it float down to the floor. "You're not going." Neither four responded, their lips locked. The last party they went to was when Mei was grounded for failing a test and as given the responsibility to keep covering the three that went to the party secretly without their father knowing. The three were caught when Mei had attempted to bring them through the backdoor.

Neither four wanted to remember their punishments.

Their father simply walked out of the room, leaving the invitation on the floor. The four glanced at each other. Today was January seventh and they had six hours to come up with a plan.

They were going.

* * *

**PLANS**

_-Li stays and makes sure dad will not find out that we're gone. He will create distractions._

_-Mei, Kiku, and Yong Soo =Party time_

_-Once back home, the three of us will find a ladder to climb into Li's room. If caught while climbing ladders, say it's part of a science project._

_-If caught walking back home, say we were taking a walk. Otherwise, we're doomed._

"Two more hours until the party. We need something more advanced." Kiku suggested, reading over the four points they had written down the past four hours.

"We're really not good at this. It's like we're begging to be caught." Mei said, sighing as she was trying to style her hair.

"It's the best we got." Li said, resting against the side of his bed. Yong Soo blinked.

"Are you sure you're okay not going?" Li raised an eyebrow, probably surprised to hear his brother actually care.

"Yea, I actually kind of wanted to stay home for one full day, you know?" Li then brought out his phone and resumed to texting, Yong Soo couldn't believe how fast his brother's fingertips were moving, almost at the speed of light.

"So what are we going to do for the next two hours?" Yong Soo asked, breaking the silence.

"Well I have to get ready." Mei said; her words sounding muffled with both of her hands fixing her bun and bobby pins sticking out of her mouth. Kiku shrugged not really interested in changing the plans anymore. Yong Soo soon left the room to get ready but really just to escape to his room. He was fine with whatever he was wearing.

He headed over to his laptop and logged on, the RiverendQuest Icon begging to be clicked. His eye twitched at the site of the icon just sitting there like a puppy. He kept telling himself no, he just wanted to internet surf. His cursor pulled itself over to his home browser until his hand forced him to click the RiverendQuest icon.

He logged on, already regretting his choice, even though at the same time it wasn't his choice. He glanced at his hand, sending a cold glare for letting him do such a thing.

_**NEW PM MESSAGE**_

"That could only mean one person…"

**To:** AegyoKimchi

**From:** DeFacto

_Go to me, right now :D_

"Knew it."

Yong Soo went over to his friendslist and found DeFacto's name shining to show he was online. He clicked his name showing various options but clicked the 'Go to' button. Instantly, he was where Alfred was.

[16:05:37] **DeFacto: **_Ae~_

No way he could get out of this. His mind raced for excuses. For the meantime he would just go with the flow. i_'What would Ae do…'/i_

[16:05:45] **AegyoKimchi: **_Al~ :D_

He practically almost facepalmed at his reply.

[16:05:47] **ArmedGentleman: **_So this was who you were talking about._

Yong Soo almost choked on his own saliva. Arthur had an account? Or he thought that was Arthur, the username was really convincing. And Alfred was talking about Ae? Now he was getting into a building mess already.

[16:05:54**] DeFacto: **_yes :D, Ae this is my cousin Arthur._

[16:06:06] **AegyoKimchi: **_Hello ^^;_

[16:06:19] **ArmedGentleman:** _Nice to meet you, Ae. Al is not causing any problems is he?_

[16:06:24] **DeFacto: **_Oh c'mon, I can't do that to her._

[16:06:25] **AegyoKimchi:** _No, not at all ^^_

[16:06:32] **ArmedGentleman:** _That's new. _

There was an awkward silence for the next minute, leaving Yong Soo happily surfing the internet with the remaining time he had. Eventually he was bombarded with beeps of new replies from the site. "Ugh, fiiinnneee."

[16:08:04] **DeFacto:** _Btw, does your gf have an account?_

[16:08:10] **ArmedGentleman: **_Yes, but she doesn't really go on it._

[16:08:16] **DeFacto: **_Aren't you guys dating in this game to? ;D _

[16:08:34] **ArmedGentleman: **_For the first week I joined this game, a month ago I think it was, I realised there was a dating option in the game. It's like this game is supporting online dating. But yes, yes I am dating her on here as well._

Online dating…on RiverEndQuest. "Yep, no one ever tells me anything. Nothing."

[16:08:50] **DeFacto:** _I can hear her shouting for you -_-_

[16:09:03] **ArmedGentleman: **_I know…nice meeting you too, Ae._

[16:09:10] **AegyoKimchi: **_Bye._

[16:09:16] **DeFacto: **_Sorry 'bout that._

"It was really awkward." Yong Soo couldn't help say to himself, he did feel awkward during it. There was dating on this game and possibly marriage and they started bringing it up…in front of Ae.

[16:09:23] **AegyoKimchi:** _No, it's fine. I have to leave soon anyways._

[16:09:34] **DeFacto: **_What? Why? D:_

[16:09:43] **AegyoKimchi: **_I'm getting a lot of homework…and I really do care about my grades._

[16:09:52] **DeFacto: **_That's understandable, in the meantime let's just kick some monster ass. I'll help you level up :D._

Yong Soo bit his lip, he really did have to leave pretty soon. But he didn't want to reject Alfred's Arthur so he just went along with it. Battling monster after monster and leveling up to higher levels, almost literally catching up to Alfred's level. The cheats really were working.

Alfred just seemed mysterious online, not breaking into huge conversations but the two characters seemed to get along pretty well. This was not looking good, at least to Yong Soo.

But he couldn't stop. He felt drawn to him again. He began to think, was it really worth it again? Would he find a way out of this? No, it wouldn't work anyway. Yong Soo felt Alfred was falling for Ae. He could totally see it.

Internet relationships can happen fast, the build of fast and who knows how long they'll last.

After an hour he said his goodbyes and signed off, just waiting for his phone to vibrate. Waiting for the familiar text he would receive from Kiku.

Nothing.

And he wondered if he was doing something good or bad.

* * *

**A/N:** Next chapter has plot development; some major points will be in there. Prepare for awkwardness and beginnings of drama. By the way, the address is completely made up.


End file.
